On The Way Down
by SillyRabbit03
Summary: On the way down, I saw you, and you saved me from myself..." (Ryan Cabrera lyrics). LG fic loosely based on the song. Rated PG13 for some language. UPDATED 9-22!
1. Meet Lizzie

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 1 

The office was dark and quiet as the young blonde woman unlocked and opened the front door. She flipped on the lights and looked around; all was as it had been the previous evening. The cabinets in the lobby were stocked full, the chairs sat neatly in a row, and the television had been turned off.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) McGuire smiled to herself. Had someone told her when she was younger that by twenty-six years old, she'd own her own veterinary clinic, have a beautiful home all her own, and be driving around town in a convertible BMW, she would probably have called them crazy.

As a high school student, Lizzie struggled to maintain a high GPA in the most advanced classes the school offered, and often punished herself for anything lower than an A. Her self-esteem had been far too low at the time, and a "bad" grade was something that could ruin even her happiest times.

But she kept her grades up, and graduated second in the entire senior class. She was quickly accepted into a host of colleges, finally settling on the University of Michigan, which was known for it's veterinary program. Once she completed college, she'd gone to work as an assistant to the best-known vet in Detroit for two years before moving to a town in Florida called Orange Park.

It was there that she'd purchased the moderately sized office and opened her own veterinary clinic, paying for almost everything with money borrowed from her parents. But that no longer mattered, as she'd paid them back everything she'd borrowed, with interest, from all the profit she received.

Lizzie headed to the back room to check on all of her overnight patients. Seeing that they were fine, she went back up to her office and sat down to review her list of patients for the day. She had an hour before the first appointment, so she looked through the refrigerator and had a cup of yogurt while she thumbed through a copy of Cat Fancy.

Half an hour later, one of Lizzie's assistants arrived. "Hey, Nicole," she greeted.

The younger girl, a veterinary student, uttered a sleepy "good morning" as she put her purse up in a cabinet.

"Up late last night?" Lizzie asked, flipping on the coffee maker and giving Nicole a sympathetic look. She knew all too well what kind of late nights were attached to college.

"Oh, God. I thought my head was going to explode, I had so much crap to study," Nicole said.

Lizzie smiled. "It'll pay off in the end. You could have just called and I wouldn't care if you came in a couple hours later. I can handle opening up alone. You know my morning patients are always the little guys."

This was set in stone in Lizzie's office. Unless the situation was very extreme or urgent, she only treated small pets, mainly cats, before 10:00 because dogs (and the occasional goat, surprisingly) were often feisty patients and required more energy than the early morning hours provided.

"Yeah, I know… it's just, I think it's kind of unprofessional, y'know? Nothing against the way you run your workplace or anything, I just am not comfortable with the idea," Nicole said, picking up the list of patients for the day and skimming over it. Only two appointments that day were dogs. There were six cat appointments, two birds, and…

"A horse?!" Nicole's face reflected the shock in her tone of voice.

Lizzie laughed. "The woman's coming from Middleburg, has a farm out there. Her regular vet is out of the country for a month and her horse just needs his teeth cleaned and filed. I told her to go ahead and bring him in, and we'll do it outside, obviously," she said.

At that moment, the bell on the front door jingled. "Okay then... That's Mrs. Rubenstein with that rotten, crabby cat of hers. I'll go ahead and get room one ready." Nicole hurried out of the office and Lizzie downed the last of her orange juice before putting on her white coat. Mrs. Rubenstein's cat was getting old, and had a tendency to bite or scratch anyone who touched her. Lizzie pulled a pair of thick bird-handling gloves over her hands and arms, then sighed before heading in to greet her patient.

"Good luck with this one, McGuire," she mumbled to herself as she neared the first room. Putting on her nicest smile, she opened the door and stepped in. "Good morning!"


	2. Meet David

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 2 

David "Gordo" Gordon rolled over and opened his eyes, then squeezed them shut again. Damn that bright light. He got up and stumbled over to the window of the tiny bedroom, yanked the shade down, then flopped back down on his bed. After a few minutes of stretching and yawning, he finally got up and walked the ten steps it took to get to the kitchen.

"What the hell possessed you to want to be a director?" he muttered to himself, staring into the near-empty refrigerator. "You should have known you'd never make it."

He sat down in the dilapidated recliner he'd bought from a garage sale six years ago and stabbed his fork into the carton of lo mein noodles. There was no use in trying to turn on the television; the cable had been cut off the week before and he wondered briefly how long it would be before they turned off his electricity, then evicted him.

Directing was a profession in which money came with the success of your work. In the five years since he'd finished college, Gordo had directed a handful of low-budget films, all of which had less than mediocre success, and the last one had been six months earlier. The small amount of money he'd earned from it was all but gone, and he doubted his bank account held enough to pay the rent that month.

The phone rang a little while later, much to Gordo's surprise. "Miracle they haven't cut it off yet," he mumbled, getting up and retrieving the handset from it's cradle on the kitchen counter. "Hello?"

"May I please speak to Mr. David Gordon?" came a pinched, nasal voice. Gordo winced.

"You're talking to him. Can I help you?"

"My name is Lois and I'm calling on behalf of Covington Financial Corporation about your Platinum Visa card. Our records show you have an outstanding balance of ten thousand, nine hundred thirty six dollars and eighty-two cents. Your last payment was received on October 28th, 2003."

Gordo glanced at the calendar hanging nearby. June 9th, 2004. Shit. "Shit," he repeated out loud. "I forgot all about it," he lied, "I'll have you a check in the mail tomorrow." He hung up the phone quickly and sighed.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to find other work. The only college education he had was a degree in directing, and that was absolutely useless in Jacksonville, Florida. Moving somewhere else wasn't an option, however, so he'd been forced to look for oddball jobs.

There was minimal success, though. He wasn't qualified for most of the jobs he found in the classified ads in the newspaper. Everywhere he looked, there were no openings for someone like him. He couldn't even find a grocery store that needed a bag boy.

Gordo was almost to the point where he'd have to sell a lot of his belongings to be able to pay the rent if something didn't come up soon. The phone rang again, but he ignored it. No one called him aside from bill collectors anymore. No one cared. He grabbed the morning paper off the doorstep and flipped to the classifieds as he'd done every day for the past three months.

He let out a sigh, uncapped a pen, and began to scan in hopes of finding something new. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding?" A grey and white cat, his only companion, jumped up on the arm of the chair and settled down. Gordo ran a hand over the cat's rough fur and scratched behind his mutilated ear.

The cat had shown up on his doorstep a few months before, looking five seconds away from death. He'd obviously been attacked by some other animal, with patches of fur missing and a chunk taken out of his ear. There was blood on his matted fur, dried in some places and fresh in others.

Gordo had immediately taken him in and done his best to clean the cat up. Once the blood had been washed from it's fur, he gave it a bowl of water and a few bites of the chicken he'd made himself for dinner. It wasn't much, but the cat appeared grateful, and since then had refused to even poke his head outside of the apartment. Gordo began to worry when the cat nestled himself down on the arm of the chair. He couldn't afford to buy himself food, much less feed the cat, too. Something had to be done, before he was in even deeper shit.


	3. Girls Night In

Oops! I just realized I forgot to add a disclaimer to the two previous chapters, so here it is: **I don't own Lizzie McGuire, or anything pertaining to the show.** I don't own Ryan Cabrera's song, "On The Way Down" that I used for the title, either. The only thing I do own so far is the name Covington Financial Corporation (from chapter 2), and a pack of gum. Want a piece?

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 3 

Lizzie walked into her home on a Friday evening just in time to hear the phone ring. Once she found the receiver on the headboard of her bed, she answered breathlessly. "Hello?"

"Hey, Liz. What are you doing tonight?" It was Miranda Sanchez, her lifelong best friend.

"A whole lot of nothing. But, there's a Blockbuster right around the corner, and a grocery store right next to it. Want to join me for a chick flick night?" Lizzie suggested, cradling the phone on her shoulder as she put her dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

"Sounds good to me. Your place or mine?"

"We had it at your place last time, so mine this time. Want to meet me at the Publix on Wakemont Drive to pick up some good food? Then we can head over to Blockbuster and pick out some movies," Lizzie said. She pushed a button on the dishwasher and it started to hum steadily.

"Sure. I need to change, I'm still in work clothes, but I can meet you there in about fifteen minutes. Is that okay?"

"No problem. I just got home from work, too, so I need to change. I'll see you in a bit."

Lizzie turned the phone off and proceeded to hurry to her room, pulling off clothing as she went, then laughing to herself when she realized she'd just walked in front of four windows in only her underwear and bra, and the curtains were open. "Oops!"

"Can I help you out to your car with that, ma'am?" Gordo looked at the customer standing in front of him and cursed himself for taking the job. It was the only thing he'd been able to find, and at least he was making more money bagging people's groceries than he had been while he was sitting around at home without a job.

"Sure! Thank you!"

He pushed the cart out behind the customer and helped her load them into her car, then gathered the rest of the carts from the parking lot. As he was pushing them back into the store, a convertible BMW zipped past him with the top down and the stereo blaring. He caught a glimpse of blonde hair flying everywhere and sighed to himself.

'Lizzie had blonde hair… God, what I wouldn't give to go back to Hillridge and junior high and not having to care,' he thought.

Lizzie McGuire. She'd been his closest friend throughout his childhood, up until he went away to film school in New York and she'd gone to Michigan. They'd lost touch over the years, and the last time he'd heard from her was the summer after their freshman year of college. They'd both gone home to Hillridge for the summer, and spent as much time together as possible.

But inevitably, there was no stopping time. Summer drew to a close and before he knew it, they were saying goodbye in an airport, Gordo going back to New York and she to Michigan.


	4. Strangers Pass In The Night

Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire or anything pertaining to it!

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 4

Lizzie waited near the entrance of the store until she saw Miranda's blue Toyota Matrix pull into a parking space. She hurried towards the car and met Miranda, then they headed up to the store. "I almost ran over one of their bag boys when I was looking for a parking spot… it was weird, he had that crazy curly hair like Gordo had," Lizzie said, grabbing a cart at the store entrance.

"Speaking of Gordo… have you talked to him lately?" Miranda asked. She tossed her purse into the cart.

"Not since the summer after freshman year at Michigan, when we were all home for summer vacation. That's the last time I went home, and I don't think I've gotten a letter or e-mail from him since right after that. I tried to call him a couple years ago, and the person who answered the phone had no clue who David Gordon was," Lizzie replied.

"Hmm… maybe he's directing big movies now, too good for us." Miranda grabbed a bottle of Pepsi off the shelf and put it in the cart. "Though, I don't think I've ever heard his name mentioned on a movie credit before. Maybe he directs those weird sci-fi movies, or horror films… those things always creeped me out. Demon kids in a corn field? Yikes."

Lizzie laughed. "I've never heard his name on a movie credit before, either. I wonder if he even wound up making a career of directing. Humans are finicky creatures, they change their minds like their underwear," she said. An employee walked by at the end of the aisle and she looked up quickly. "Hey, there went the kid with the curly hair. I should go apologize for almost killing him."

Miranda turned and started to speak, but Lizzie was already at the other end of the aisle. She turned and came back. "He disappeared. Probably got scared that I'd try to run him down with the cart," she joked.

The two women finished up their shopping and paid for their food, then headed over to Blockbuster. Lizzie, with Gordo still on the brain, decided to ask the girl at the checkout counter if she knew anything about a director named David Gordon.

"I've never heard of him, but hang on a minute, I'll check the database." The girl punched some letters on the keyboard of her computer, then squinted at the screen. "He directed a few independent films, there's four listed here, but nothing that was big. He's probably starving right now," she said.

"Okay… do you have any of the films here?"

"Yeah, one of them. It's called 'Fair Trade', it's in the Drama section. Would you like me to find it for you?"

"No, thank you. I was just curious. Thanks!" Lizzie smiled at the girl, then wandered off in search of Miranda. She found her looking at Romance movies, holding two DVD cases. "Whatcha got?"

Miranda handed her the movies and Lizzie nodded as she looked at the titles. "The girl at the counter looked up Gordo for me," she said nonchalantly.

"Well? What's the verdict?" Miranda asked, looking at her curiously.

"He directed a handful of indie films, they have one of them here. I'm going to go see if I can find it." Lizzie disappeared and Miranda just laughed.

"Alright, Gordon, it's 9:00… have a great night." Gordo looked at the manager on duty, a woman named Alyse.

"Thanks, Alyse. See you tomorrow," he said, heading for the door. As he stepped outside, he saw the BMW that had almost ran him down a little while earlier. A blonde woman stood beside it, talking to a dark-haired woman. He squinted, he could have sworn it was Lizzie and Miranda.

"Yeah, right. In Florida?" he muttered to himself. He shook his head and walked over to the beat-up black Honda he'd had since he was in high school. The car spluttered to life, smoke pouring out of the exhaust, and Gordo carefully maneuvered it out of the parking space. His apartment had never sounded so tempting in his life.


	5. All Alone

Disclaimer: As usual… I don't own Lizzie McGuire or anything pertaining to it!

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 5

"Hey Miranda, remember that movie we rented last month, the one that Gordo directed?" Lizzie maneuvered her car carefully down the street through the torrents of rain pelting down on a Tuesday afternoon. She wondered briefly if it was really such a good idea to be talking on a cell phone while driving through that.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Did you like it? I thought it was a really good movie, and I'm curious as to why it did so… um… badly."

"Liz, what's up with you? Ever since you saw that guy at Publix, you've been talking about Gordo practically nonstop. You'd think you were in love with him or something," Miranda said, sounding a little irritated. Lizzie's eyes widened in surprise.

"I haven't seen him in like five years. How could I be in love with him? And I do not talk about him nonstop!" Miranda was silent on the other end of the phone, and Lizzie thought about what she'd just said. "Shut up. I just miss him, that's all," she said defensively.

Miranda started talking, but suddenly Lizzie didn't hear a word she was saying. She looked out the window. Waiting beside her at the traffic light was a beat up black car. Closer inspection let her know it was a Honda Civic, and Lizzie strained to see inside the darkly tinted windows. 'Have you lost your mind, McGuire? There's no way he'd still be driving that old beater,' she thought.

"LIZZIE!" Lizzie snapped back to reality at the sound of Miranda screeching in her ear.

"I'm here, I'm here! Chill!" The light changed and she accelerated slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the black Honda turn into the parking lot at Publix and tried to shake off the weird feeling she had.

Gordo sat in his car for a moment after pulling into the parking space. There was just no way in hell that it was possible. He shook his head vigorously and told himself that the rain distorted his view of the woman in the BMW. Lizzie was in Michigan. The woman in the BMW was just that; a woman in a car. "I'm losing my mind," he muttered to himself.

Inside the store, he was standing at the time clock waiting to begin his shift when the store manager, Robert, approached him. "David, can I speak to you in my office please?"

'Oh, no… that wasn't a good tone…' Gordo thought, following the older man into the office. Robert motioned for him to sit down, and did so himself.

"What's up, Robert? Am I in trouble?" Gordo asked, using a tone that dripped humor. Robert sighed.

"Alyse spoke to me this morning and said that she's been having nothing but trouble with you, not that you're being disrespectful or anything, but that you're constantly distracted. She said she's spoken to you several times about it and while she says you've acknowledged it and understand, you haven't made any move to correct the problem. We can't have people off in dreamland while they're here to work. I'm sorry, David, but we're going to have to let you go."

Gordo sighed. Robert was right, he was constantly distracted. His mind always seemed to drift off to Lizzie-land. There was no helping it, it just happened, and Alyse had commented the day before that she wondered if even a freight train coming toward him would bring him back down to earth. He doubted it.

"I'm really sorry, Robert. I understand, though. I've got a lot on my mind right now," he said. Robert nodded, and Gordo stood up. He shook the man's hand and walked out of the office. 'Now what am I going to do?' he thought, as he walked back out into the pouring rain to the little black car sitting all alone. 'Just like me.'


	6. Power Outage

Whoops! Sorry guys, I kind of forgot about the story for a bit there -- I just started a new job, and have been really busy. Sorry! Oh yeah – I own nothing.

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 6

On Wednesday morning, Lizzie woke up to the sound of a horrible storm. She rolled over to look at her alarm clock, only to find the neon digital numbers to be nonexistent. 'Great, my alarm clock died,' she thought, throwing back the covers and sitting up. 'It's still dark, so hopefully I'm not running late… where's my watch?'

Lizzie fumbled for the switch to turn on the lamp beside her bed, but when she flipped it, nothing happened. "Shit." The power was out. That would explain the total darkness of the room. An eerie feeling washed over her; she'd always hated power outages, and the feeling was stronger now that she lived alone.

"Baby steps… baby steps…" Lizzie said softly to herself as she carefully maneuvered her way to the door. About halfway across the room, a loud clap of thunder shook the house and startled her so badly that she screamed. Once she reached the door, she flung it open, hoping there would be more light. No such luck.

As Lizzie slowly stumbled her way into the kitchen, the storm continued to rage outside the house, showing no signs of lessening. She found a candle in a drawer, and used it to provide enough light to find the heavy-duty flashlight in the garage. Once she had enough light to get by, she grabbed her cell phone off the kitchen counter where it was charging and flipped it open. The screen proclaimed that she had 8 missed calls from Nicole's cell phone.

"Shit." She cleared the screen and noted the time. 9:38 AM. "SHIT!" she repeated.

Lizzie quickly phoned the clinic, but hung up after seven rings. She scrolled through her list of phone numbers and selected Nicole's number.

"Nicole? Hey, are you at the clinic?" she asked when she heard a voice on the other end.

"No. I left around nine… I got there at a quarter to eight and the power went out about five minutes after I walked in, and it still hadn't come back on by nine so I grabbed the appointment book off the front desk and took it home and called everyone to let them know the clinic is closed today," Nicole replied. Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief and sank down into the couch.

"Well, looks like we've got a day off. And I'd be willing to bet the power will be out all day and this storm is definitely not letting up soon. I'm gonna go so I don't run the battery out on my phone, in case I need it later on," she said.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later."

Lizzie flipped her phone shut and sighed. What on earth could she do all alone in a dark house with no electricity? Just then, there was a furious pounding unmistakably coming from the front door. Lizzie froze. Who in their right mind would be out in this weather?

She practically tiptoed to the front door and tried to look out the peephole, but it was no use. The blackness outside allowed her no view of what was on the other side of the door. 'I'd be a complete moron to open this door,' she thought. But a nagging thought occurred to her. 'Whoever is out there is probably soaking wet, and is gonna get sick from this weather… besides, even murderers wouldn't go out in this crap. It has to be someone who got stuck in the weather.'

She reached for the dead-bolt, but paused just before her fingers brushed it. Should she open the door?  Was she going to regret this? Hell, would she live to regret it? 'Please God, be with me this moment and protect me from harm,' she prayed silently as she unlocked the door with trembling fingers. She turned the knob and as soon as she gave the slightest pull on the door, it blew open, almost hitting her in the face.

The person standing on her doorstep was staring downward, with nothing but a poncho protecting them, and she couldn't see their face. "Hurry, come in, get out of the rain!" she yelled, and the person's head suddenly jerked up at her voice. She realized that whoever it was probably hadn't even noticed the door open.

The stranger stepped into the foyer and Lizzie pushed the door shut, pausing for a second. Should she leave it unlocked? What if this person was a killer, and she needed to escape? Being wet and alive was better than dry and dead. She locked it anyway and turned back to look at her visitor. "What were you doing out in…" She started to speak, but when her eyes met his, her voice cracked and no further sound was expelled.


	7. Shock

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 7

Green eyes started into blue in silence, both unsure of whether or not they were really looking at who they thought they were.

"Who are you?" Lizzie finally asked, knowing it couldn't be true.

At the same moment, he also spoke. "Lizzie."

The name had rolled off his lips barely even in a whisper, but she heard him even over the thunder and rain outside. All she could do was stare, until her brain kicked in again and she hurried to get him a towel.

"Oh, my goodness, you're probably frozen… come with me," she directed, taking him by the arm and leading him to the bathroom. She started a hot shower for him, then grabbed two huge fluffy bath towels from the closet right outside the bathroom. The man looked at her gratefully and she smiled at him.

"I'll find something dry for you and I'll leave it on the table right outside the door for you to grab when you're ready, okay?" she asked. He nodded, and she walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. For a second, she just leaned against the door and her thoughts ran away for a second. 'This just does not happen,' she thought. She pinched herself, hard. "Ow!" Definitely awake. 'Maybe it does.'

Lizzie looked through her closet and then her dresser and did manage to find a pair of boxers Matt had left at her place the last time he'd visited. She also found a pair of his sweatpants in another drawer, and fished a large hooded sweatshirt out of her closet. It was huge on her, so it was bound to fit him. He'd just have to get over the fact that it was pink and had a huge hibiscus flower on the front. She left the clothes on the table outside the bathroom, then retreated to the couch to sit in the darkness and listen to the storm continue outside.

A little while later, the man wandered into the living room. While he'd been in the shower, Lizzie had found a battery-operated lantern in the garage and brought it in. The room was lit dimly, and he could see that she was curled up on the couch, staring at him. He stood there silently, looking around, and glancing back at her a few times.

"You can sit down, you know. The furniture's not going to bite you," she said. He gave a nervous laugh, and sat down on the edge of a reclining chair. Silence bathed the room again, with the exception of an occasional clap of thunder.

"So… what are you doing here? How'd you know where to find me?" Lizzie asked incredulously.

"Actually, I wasn't looking for you. I live a few minutes away, and I was on my way to go somewhere but my car broke down a little ways down your street. You were the first person who answered the door. I knocked on like six other doors," he said.

"You live here?" was all Lizzie could say.

"Yep. Well, I actually live just on the other side of the city limits, right inside of Jacksonville, but yeah," he responded.

"Wow… that's just… amazing," Lizzie breathed.

"It's been a long time, Lizzie. I've missed you," he stated.

Lizzie smiled warmly at him. "I've missed you, too, Gordo."


	8. Catching Up

I don't own anything! And a few people have asked me for longer chapters, so I'm going to try to make them a little longer. REVIEW PLEASE! : )

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 8

Lizzie and Gordo spent the remainder of the morning catching up on lost years.  The power outage seemed to slip away from their minds as the man and woman spoke of recent and childhood times past. Gordo had yet to tell her about his financial situation, because if Lizzie was still the same person, she'd dive into a pity party for him and that was the last thing he wanted.

"I saw one of your movies a few weeks ago."

Gordo had been looking around the dark room, but he turned back to Lizzie so quickly that he swore he heard (not to mention felt!) his neck snap. "Ow… you did?!" he asked incredulously.

Lizzie nodded. "Yeah. 'Randa and I were having a movie night and when I went to Publix to get munchies, I almost ran over this little guy with curly hair like yours… and then I kept thinking about how much I missed seeing you, and I asked the chick at Blockbuster if they had any of your movies… she said yes, so I went and got it."

Gordo could feel his face redden, and was glad she couldn't see him very well in the dark. If only she knew… "Ah, cool. What movie?" he responded.

"_Fair Trade_," Lizzie answered. Gordo winced.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It was awful, huh? I can't believe I even directed that piece of crap," he said. Lizzie looked at him in surprise.

"I actually enjoyed it very much." She was very indignant about it. Gordo smiled. He had felt very poor this morning, but now that he had Lizzie back, he might as well be the richest man in the world. His childhood feelings came rushing back to the surface right at that point, and all the memories started to whirl around in his head.

Flashback:

_Lizzie was sitting in the library, crying. Gordo went to her, and she told him Ronnie broke up with her. 'That jerk!' Gordo thought. 'How dare he hurt her.'_

_"Lizzie, I…"_

_"What, Gordo?"_

_"Uh… nothing." He chickened out again._

End Flashback.

"Lizzie, I-" Without realizing it at first, he started to blurt out that he loved her. Granted, he hadn't seen her in years upon years, but he'd always loved her, and the moment he saw her that morning, he'd promptly fallen in deeper.

"You what, Gordo?"  Lizzie looked at him. 'Geez, doesn't this seem familiar?' Gordo thought. "Oh, I just wanted to say… it's so good to see you again. It's hard to keep friends in the entertainment business, and it's good to know that you're still there," he said. 'Good save!'

"Come on, Gordo. You know I'll be there for you until… well, until forever. You're my best friend." [AN: Aww, sappy cheesy moment! Sorry LOL]

Both got quiet for a moment, and Lizzie noted that the storm outside had calmed down noticeably. It was still quite dark, but the thunder had stopped, and she hadn't noticed any flashes of lightning lately. The rain seemed to be letting up a bit, too. She got up and crossed the living room to peer out of the curtains.

It was much lighter outside than before, and Lizzie could see the neighborhood again. She noticed the beat up black Honda on the side of the road a few houses down and laughed. "Gordo, don't EVEN try to tell me that you kept that old beat-up car from high school," she giggled.

Gordo froze. What could he tell her? He couldn't say he was a wash-up, that his films sucked, that he was being evicted because he couldn't afford his tiny apartment that was the size of her bathroom.

"That car's been good to me. Besides – it was my very first car. It's special," Gordo said, hoping that was a good save.

"Yeah, but… it's like what, 15 years old?" Lizzie asked, glancing out the window again.

"That's a pretty good car to still be running after 15 years, don't you think?"

"Well, what I think is that it's obviously NOT running, or you wouldn't be broke down and sitting in my living room in the middle of what might have been a damn hurricane," Lizzie responded.

Gordo laughed at that. "Yeah, I suppose. I love that car, though. I'd rather get it fixed and continue to have it run, than to get rid of it," he said. It was true; the car had seen him through everything that had happened to him, and considering the fact that it was older than the hills, it was still in pretty good shape. Well, except for the whole part about the engine not working. He grimaced. That was going to be a beast to fix.

Gordo then realized he was in a very bad place. He didn't want Lizzie to have pity on him, but what was he going to do? He knew no one else around, and the notice had said to have all of his stuff out of the apartment by Friday. It was now Wednesday. He had no job, and his car was broke down.

All of a sudden, everything hit Gordo at once, and he felt the tears spring to his eyes before he had a chance to stop them. 'Why can't someone just assure me that it'll be okay?' he thought. As if on cue, the power came back on.


	9. Too Proud

Disclaimer: I own nothing… as usual!

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 9

Blonde hair whipped in the Friday afternoon breeze, and then a dainty hand reached up to brush it away. Lizzie walked hurriedly to the entrance of the grocery store, wanting to get in, get a gallon of milk, and get back out before the evening rush. When she walked into the cool building, she suddenly remembered the guy with the curly hair from her trip up there with Miranda.

'Hey, maybe I can find him now and apologize to him!' She still felt guilty about it, and realized that with a conscience like hers, she'd never feel better until she spoke to him about it. She made her way to the customer service desk and waited. When it was her turn, she asked the cashier to call a manager, then proceeded to give him what few details she remembered.

"Um… well, I didn't get a name, that's why I'm here to ask you about him. He was kind of tall, maybe a little taller than I am, and he had really curly dark brown hair. And he was out gathering shopping carts off your parking lot on this particular night… would you happen to know who I'm talking about?"

"Really curly dark brown hair… a male?" The manager asked. Lizzie glanced at his nametag. Robert. She nodded. "Well… there's no one currently employed here that fits that description… when was this?" he continued.

"About… ahhh, a month ago, I'd say," Lizzie responded.

"A month ago… curly dark brown hair… well, we did have one guy working for us for a while, he had some crazy hair… wild curly, like… his name was David," Robert paused, "David Gordon."

Lizzie let out a slightly audible gasp. "Thank you, sir. You said he no longer works here, right?" Robert nodded, and Lizzie turned away. The milk was forgotten. She hurried to the door, and almost smacked into it in her distracted state of mind. Gordo?!

Gordo settled down on the sofa in Miranda's living room and let out a distressed sigh. She had been nice enough to let him stay in her home until he found a job and another apartment. He'd made her promise not to say a word to Lizzie about it. "Day four, a complete waste," he muttered. Miranda looked up from the copy of People magazine she'd been leafing through, and gave him a curious stare.

"I feel like crap for imposing on you like this, Miranda… I can't believe I couldn't even pay my own bills, do you know how inferior and useless that makes me feel? I can't get a job, and the one lousy job I did manage to get, I lost anyway," Gordo replied.

"Well, look on the bright side – at least you know you've got somewhere to go." Miranda turned her attention back to the magazine, and Gordo sighed inwardly. At least she hadn't questioned him. He didn't know if he could fess up to his brief stint as a bag boy. Just then, Miranda's phone rang.

It was Lizzie, and Gordo listened to Miranda's end of the conversation. "Yeah… oh, REALLY??… Hmm… interesting… I wonder if it's coincidence?… No, I don't know… do you have his number?… Oh. No, I don't have it, either… I don't know, Lizzie, how many David Gordons could be in this city, with curly brown hair?… But really, Liz… a bag boy at Publix?…" Gordo gulped and hoped like hell that his face wasn't as red as it felt.

Miranda hung up the phone a few minutes later and looked him square in the face. "I thought you were some bigshot director!" she exclaimed. Gordo sighed.

"Bigshot, no. Director, eh… not really. Washed up? Yes. It was the only place that would hire me, and I couldn't find work as a director, so I had to start with something! I was losing my apartment, and had no one to turn to. What was I supposed to do?"

"Well, Lizzie's on a tare right now, firmly convinced that it was you she almost ran over in the parking lot at Publix one night about a month ago," Miranda said. Gordo laughed.

"It was me. But I can't tell her this, Miranda… she can't know about my situation, you wouldn't understand, it's too embarrassing," he said.

"But yet you can tell me?" she asked.

"Only because you dragged it out of me!"

"What if Lizzie had tried to drag it out of you? Would you have told her?"

"Uh… well, you see… um… probably not?" Gordo finally admitted. Miranda smiled in satisfaction.

"You won't admit it to her, because you're afraid she'll think less of you, and you just couldn't live with that, could you? Because you're in love with Lizzie, still, after what… ten years?"

"Try about fifteen," he admitted quietly. Miranda simply giggled. Gordo shook his head and went back to highlighting classified ads. She was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! And thanks to those of you who reviewed – please continue to do so! And to those of you who didn't… please do! Hehe!


	10. Unlucky

Sorry if I confused anybody… Gordo is staying with Miranda while he's looking for a job and a new apartment. I got a review from someone who was confused as to why Lizzie opened the door to him, but suddenly he was with Miranda – the last chapter was supposed to be a few days after chapter 8 happened.

On to the story!

(Disclaimer: I own nothing!)

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 10

After relentlessly trying for a month to find a new job, Gordo was still unsuccessful. Miranda was beginning to get upset, and though she understood it wasn't his fault that people didn't hire him, she also was really beginning to miss her privacy. She'd never been one to hold her feelings inside, either, so one afternoon, she let him know.

"Look, Gordo, I love you to death. But this has to stop. I didn't mind you staying here at first, but I figured it would just be a little while, maybe a couple weeks. You've been here for over a month now, with absolutely no income, your broke-down car sitting in my driveway looking ugly, and I want my privacy back. Now, we're going to Lizzie's house, and you're gonna tell her everything, or else I will."

She paused and took a breath, then started up again. "Lizzie hates being alone in that house, and I like being alone in mine. It'll be perfect, because she'll immediately insist that you stay there at her place."

Gordo looked at her in shock. It wore off in a moment or so, and then he felt guilty. She'd offered her home as a place for him and given up all of her privacy. She drove him to countless job interviews, made sure there was food on the table, and what had he given her in return? Not a thing.

Sure, he'd helped out around the house a lot. While Miranda was at work, Gordo made sure everything was in order and did the laundry and even cooked sometimes, despite his lousy culinary skills. But that really wasn't much when he thought about it. Still, how did she expect him to tell Lizzie? She knew how he felt, and he was almost hurt because of her decision.

"Alright… you do have a point. I can't control the fact that no one seems to want to hire me, but that's not your fault, either, and this is your home. Listen, I'm gonna go get some basic things together so we can go to Lizzie's when she's home from work," Gordo said, turning to head up the stairs.

"I'm sorry, Gordo…" Miranda called to his back, as he retreated up the stairs.

Lizzie heard the bell on the door jingle as her last patient of the day walked in. She looked at the appointment book and saw that it was Mr. Stevens with his cat Bella. Bella had gotten her leg closed in a door and Lizzie had to operate and put a steel pin in the tiny cat's leg to replace the crushed bones. Now, several weeks later, she was supposed to take out the stitches in Bella's leg.

Since it was such a routine and quick procedure, Lizzie had already sent all of her assistants home for the day. She grabbed a pair of scissors and went out into the lobby. Mr. Stevens was holding the little white cat like a baby. "Hey there, sweetie!" Lizzie cooed to Bella.

"I'm just gonna cut these sutures out, and then you guys can go on your merry way, alright?" she asked. Mr. Stevens nodded, and Lizzie gently took hold of the cat's tiny leg. She snipped the six stitches and pulled them out, then lightly stroked the top of Bella's head a few times. "There you go, good as new!" she said.

"Thank you, Miss McGuire. What is the charge?" he asked, cradling the cat in one arm and reaching for his wallet with the other. Lizzie shook her head. "I'm not gonna charge you for that, Mr. Stevens. It took all of ten seconds to do. I don't run this business to make tons of money. I do it to help," she said.

The man smiled and thanked her, then made his way back out to his car with the tiny white ball of fluff in his arms. Lizzie smiled to herself, then went back to the back. She tossed the old strings from the sutures into the garbage, then washed her hands and proceeded to lock up for the evening.

When Lizzie walked into her house, the phone was ringing incessantly. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Lizzie, it's Miranda. Listen, Gordo's got some things he wants to tell you, so we're gonna come over in a little while, okay?"

"Uh… yeah, that's fine. Have you guys eaten dinner yet?" Lizzie cradled the phone on her shoulder while she looked through her refrigerator.

"We were just gonna stop at McDonald's on the way over," Miranda said.

"Don't. I'll order some pizza," Lizzie responded. Miranda mentioned that she was going to get a quick shower before they came over, and they got off the phone. Lizzie sat down at the kitchen table and wondered what was so important that Gordo had to tell her, and why did he have to bring Miranda with him?

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, "They're dating!"


	11. Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Oye! I'm such a bad author! I haven't updated in like… eons! Well, a month… but still! I'm so sorry guys, I'm such a bum. But please continue to read and review! I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 11

Lizzie ordered a pizza and then changed out of her work clothes. As she was pulling her blonde hair back into a ponytail, she remembered there was a bottle of champagne in her fridge. She hurried back downstairs and located three wine glasses in a cabinet. Champagne was always a great way to celebrate something.

The doorbell rang a few minutes later, and Lizzie hurried to let Gordo and Miranda in. "Hey, you guys!" she exclaimed.

Gordo looked at her curiously. "Why are you so bubbly?" he asked. Miranda elbowed him, and he let out a small 'oof!'

"Today is a happy day," Lizzie replied, then looked at them both expectantly. Neither said anything, so she bit her tongue to keep from saying what she really wanted to. That she wanted Gordo for herself. That was selfish. "I know what you guys are going to tell me, and I think it's just the best idea in the world!"

"You do?" Gordo asked, after a brief pause.

"Of course! I don't know how I didn't see it coming; it was bound to happen to one of us, since we've always been so close!" Lizzie raved.

"What does us being close have to do with Gordo coming to stay with you?" Miranda asked.

Both Lizzie and Gordo looked at Miranda in surprise. Gordo because he had expected that Miranda would give him a chance to say it himself, and Lizzie because she was utterly and completely confused.

"But if you guys are dating, why would he stay with me?" she asked, her brow furrowed. Gordo and Miranda looked at her in shock.

"Us? Dating? What the hell are you talking about?" The words escaped both of their mouths at the same time, and Lizzie wondered briefly if they'd rehearsed that.

"Isn't that what you came over here to tell me? I mean, you came over here together, and said you had to talk to me… that's the only possible reason! And you don't have to hide it from me, I promise I'm not mad. Things will be different I suppose, but that's not a bad thing," Lizzie clamored.

"Liz. Shut up," Miranda commanded.

"Lizzie, we came over here because I've been staying with Miranda… and she really needs her privacy back. I don't want to impose, but I… well… I need to… um…" Gordo stuttered. He couldn't seem to make the words come out. How could he tell her this? He looked at Miranda helplessly.

"Gordo needs a place to live until he can find a job and a place of his own," Miranda blurted out. Gordo rolled his eyes. That wasn't the help he'd hoped for.

Lizzie's eyes shifted from Miranda to Gordo, and shock registered. "I thought you had a place, in Jacksonville," she said.

Gordo shook his head. "No… well, I did. I had an apartment, a disgusting, tiny apartment. And I got evicted because I couldn't afford it. I had no choice but to ask Miranda if I could stay with her for a while, but I haven't been able to find any work," he said, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. He stared at the floor.

"Oh my gosh, Gordo! Why didn't you tell me?! You know perfectly well that you can come to me for anything!" Lizzie exclaimed, her voice shaky. She swallowed hard. She would not cry. This was not something to cry about. Oh, but poor Gordo! She felt so horrible.

"Liz, I was ashamed. I didn't want you thinking I was just some washed up, crappy director who can't pay his bills. Look at you; you've got this big beautiful home, a nice car, amazing, beautiful things… I couldn't compare with that, and I didn't want you to be embarrassed by me," Gordo responded.

Lizzie was quiet for a moment, then reached out and smacked the back of his head. Gordo's eyes flew open in surprise, and he reached up to rub the spot. "Ow! What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Because damn it, Gordo! You know better than that! You've been the closest person to me, for my entire life!" Lizzie looked at Miranda, "You, too, Mir. But Gordo, I've known you my entire life. You should know by now that you have nothing to hide from me, and nothing to be ashamed of. I don't give a shit about what you are, it's WHO you are that matters to me."

Gordo silently continued to stare at the floor, and Miranda signaled to Lizzie that she'd be outside, so they could have some time to talk. Lizzie nodded, then turned her attention back to Gordo. The front door clicked shut, and she stepped closer to him. His gaze didn't shift, so she lightly touched his chin to focus his attention on her face.

"Gordo… why, Gordo? Why didn't you just come to me, and tell me you needed help? It almost hurts my feelings that you went to Miranda instead of me," she said softly. Gordo's eyes roamed the room, looking everywhere but into Lizzie's. She snapped her fingers in his face. "Damn it, David, look at me."

At the mention of his given name, Gordo's gaze finally rested on her own, and she could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "Lizzie, I just couldn't. I didn't want you to think of me as a failure. That's all there is to it. I was afraid you'd find dismay in my misfortune, and think less of me," he said.

Lizzie sighed. "You spent all of junior high, and most of high school trying to convince me that what others thought didn't matter, Gordo. You of all people, should not be worrying about what I think of you. Because damn it, even if you were that kind of person, I would never think that of you. You're not a failure, Gordo. You had some bad luck. Big deal. Everyone does at some point. I don't care! I'm your best friend. I'm gonna love you no matter what you do."

By the time Lizzie finished speaking, tears were rolling down Gordo's face. She looked at him and swore she felt her heart break in two. Without a second's hesitation, she opened her arms and pulled him into a tight embrace. He clung to her like a lost child who'd just been found. Lizzie spoke softly to him. "It's going to be fine, Gordo… I'm here, and this is now your home, too… there's nothing to worry about… everything's gonna be just fine."

A/N: Cookies for everyone who reviews! Hehehe!


	12. Gordo's New Job

Let's hope I can keep this up! I seem to have this habit of forgetting about my stories for a while, then suddenly getting inspired again… hehehe. But hey – I used to have like 10 stories going at one time, and never finished any of them. I'm getting much better about that!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, still!

ON THE WAY DOWN

Chapter 12

Lizzie slammed the front door as she walked into her house, an hour later than usual, on a Friday night. Gordo peered around the corner from the kitchen, startled by the door. He barely had time to jump out of the way before Lizzie blew through the doorway, mumbling angrily. He said nothing as she threw her purse down on the table, and caught her keys as they flew across the countertop. She ranted and raved incoherently for a moment, her back to him, then finally spun around and looked at him, her hands on her hips and an aggravated look on her face.

"You done yet?" Gordo asked.

Lizzie let out a sigh, then sank into a chair. "Yeah, I guess."

"Now, care to explain why you just flew in the door, yelling at a decibel rate that would put a jet engine to shame?" he countered.

"Nothing in particular, it's just… today was a crappy day. A bird decided to poop in the middle of my windshield on the way to work this morning, then some old man's rotten little dog bit the hand of a little girl waiting in the lobby with her mom. Another man brought in a cat that had been hit by a car, and I couldn't save her. In the midst of all this mess, my best assistant gets a phone call from her mother saying that her father's been in an accident and is in a coma, so she had to leave immediately and hop on a plane to Denver, and has no idea how long she'll be gone." She stopped for a second.

"Then I noticed in the parking lot that somehow, there's a dent in the side of my car. And on the way home, I got stuck in a massive traffic jam on the freeway. Then I turn onto my street, and the bloody neighbor's kid runs out in front of my car, I slam on the brakes, the kid runs off screaming, and her mother, who was out in the yard, starts screaming at ME because her stupid kid is out in the street!" Lizzie finally finished, and took a deep breath.

"Ouch. Listen, go park on the couch. I'll put something on for dinner, then I'll be out there in a minute and we can talk," Gordo said.

"That's too much trouble. Just order a pizza while I go pee, and then we can watch Law & Order," Lizzie said. Gordo acknowledged this, and made his way into the living room with the cordless phone.

When Lizzie came back to the living room, she noted Gordo relaxing on the couch, and promptly flopped down beside him, her head in his lap. "Gordoooo… massage my head?" she asked, giving him her best pouty face. He complied, and she closed her eyes and relaxed.

Gordo's attention was only partially focused on the television show as he delicately massaged Lizzie's scalp. He glanced down at her, only to note that her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. His fingers trailed over to the side of her face and he traced lines on her cheek, but quickly stopped when she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Sorry," he sputtered out. Lizzie smiled at him.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to doze off on you," she said, sitting up. Suddenly, as if a firecracker had exploded beneath her, she jumped and grabbed his arm. "Gordo!"

Gordo looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! I just had a brilliant idea!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"And what's that?"

"Well, since you keep complaining that you're having trouble finding a job… and I'm short an assistant for who knows how long… why don't you come work with me?"

"At your clinic?" Gordo asked, in a doubtful tone.

Lizzie scoffed. "No, Gordo, on the moon." She rolled her eyes. "Of course at the clinic, you doof."

"But I know nothing about animals, or anything like that," Gordo responded. Lizzie shrugged.

"You probably know more than the other two girls that work for me. They have good intentions, but are about as bright as a dim bulb. Come on, Gordo. It's not like you've had luck with anything else," she said.

"If you were anyone else, I'd probably be upset at that comment. But since it's you, I'll ignore it. But I guess if you want someone whose college education was focused on moviemaking, working at your vet center… then sure!" Gordo smiled.

"That's settled, then. Make sure you're up early enough on Monday morning, I leave at 7:15." Just then, the doorbell rang. Gordo went to get the pizza, and Lizzie ran to the kitchen to grab some money out of her purse.

A little while later, they had finished stuffing their faces with pizza and were talking and relaxing in the living room again. Lizzie let out a yawn, and stretched out on the couch. Gordo laughed, looking at her from the smaller sofa where he was kicked back. "I'm stuffed!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"Me, too…" Gordo's statement was interrupted by a big yawn. Lizzie giggled. They talked for a little while longer, before her eyelids started to droop. 'Better get upstairs to bed,' she thought, pushing herself upward. She looked over at Gordo and smiled to herself. He was asleep, his head tilted slightly back and his mouth hanging open.

Lizzie grabbed a blanket from the nearby linen closet and covered him up. She stood over him for a moment, just looking at him, then leaned over and lightly kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Gordo. I love you," she whispered, then turned and made her way upstairs.

"I love you, too, McGuire," Gordo responded softly. Lizzie was already upstairs.


End file.
